Conveying machine for line production of sewn materials



1958 F. A. CETRULO, JR 2,8439% CONVEYING MACHINE FOR LINE PRODUCTION OF SEWN MATERIALS Filed Aug. 28, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet l NTOR. FEE/w: fiA/IWQ/W 6577mm IJTE.

2mm 0% wm m mm g 1953 F. A. CETRULO, JR 9 CONVEYING MACHINE FOR LINE PRODUCTION OF sEwN MATERIALS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 28, 1956 Inl-ll-Illl lullunz 138i!- TTORNEY.

26, 1958 F; A. CETRULO, JR 2,848,960

CONVEYING MACHINE FOR LINE PRODUCTION OF SEWN MATERIALS Filed Aug. 28, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Fem/n flaw/my (emu/.0 Jr.

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent CONVEYING MACHINE FOR LINE PRODUCTION OF SEWN MATERIALS Frank Anthony Cetrulo, In, Fort Thomas, Ky.

Application August 28, 1956, Serial No. 606,674

-Claims. (Cl. 112--2) My invention relates to types of machines whereby lots of pieces of material are arranged on movable work tables and operated upon at particular stations on the machine and then advanced to other succeeding stations for other operations until the piece of material is transformed into a finished product.

It is an object of my invention to provide a detachable, movable work table movably synchronized with the operation of sewing machine heads whereby a stack of individual pieces of material can be sewed without removing apiece from the work table until each piece in the stock has been sewed.

Another object of my invention is to provide a multistationed sewing machine for line production sewing of materials whereby detached movable work tables are movably synchronized to shuttle back and forth with the operation of sewing machine heads and the tables being adapted to remain loaded with folded stacks of individual pieces of material during and while being advanced from station to station of said machine to complete all sewing operations on each individual piece of material at each station without removing a piece from the stack of materials resting on said movable work tables.

A further object of my invention is to provide detached movable work tables for sewing machine heads in l ne production to carry stacks of materials to be sewedand shuttle the work tables back and forth across and synchronized with the operation of a sewing machine needle at the will of the operator by remote foot pedal controls located. at thesewing machine.

These and other objects. will become apparent and morespecifically set forth in the description of the drawings forming part of my application.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is av diagrammatic plan view of my line production conveying machine.

Figure 2 is an elevation with parts in section taken on line 2.-2- of Figure- 3.

Figure 3 is an endelevation with parts in section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 4.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of my conveyor mechanism inpart. taken on line 4-4 of Figure 7..

Figure 5 is a typical symbolical layout of electrical elements used at the several stations of my machine,

Figure 6 is a plan of a piece of material with sewn heme.

Figure 7 is a plan of one of the stations showing a sewing machine head and the separable movable table with a stack of material and foot pedals for synchronizing, the operation of thetables and sewing machine heads.

Present day sewing machines have fixed work tables and the materials are brought to the sewing machines on pallets or intote boxes and the operator must pick. up each piece andposition thepiece on the work table to pass it through the sewing machine. With this method two stacks of materials result i. e. one unfinished and one finished along side of each sewing machine.

In my machine separable movable work tables are arranged to move the tables and materials on the tables in relation to the speed of needles for sewing machine heads. The sewing machine heads are spaced in a line and each sewing machine head is destined to perform a particular operation on a piece of material to transform .it into a finished garment.

With my separable movable tables the stack of materials remains on thetable as it passes from station to station of my machine and while each piece of the material in the stack is being sewn at the sewing stations. The material is not removed from the tables until all operations at different stations have been performed on all the pieces of material in the stack. The material is always positioned properly for sewing and it need not be removed from the stock until all pieces in the stack have been sewn.

My separable movable tables have their forward and backward movements remotely controlled by foot pedals that are operated by the operator simultaneously with the control and operation of the sewing machine so that the movement of the tables are synchronized with the speed of the sewing needles. Succeeding pieces of material are made available for sewing at each station by simply unfolding part of a piece from the stack of materials while the remainder of the piece in the stack remains on the separable movable table.

My invention eliminates all searching, turning and stooping of the operator which is necessary when mate rials-are positioned along side of a sewing machine on pallets or tote boxes as is practised with present day methods and machines.

The movement of the work tables is controlled by forward and reversing foot treadle switches in conjunction with a foot treadle switch for operating the sewing machine head. This enables the operator to shuttle the work tables back and forth across the sewing machine to separately sew each and every piece of material in the stack without removing a piece from the stack on the movable work table. As soon as a piece is sewed, it is allowed to hang down over the edge of the movable table and leave a clear way for the next piece of material to be sewed.

When an operation has been completed at a station the movable table, with the stack of material'on it, is disconnected from the mechanism which shuttles it forward and backward at a station, and the table is moved to the next station for another sewing operation.

Referring to Figure 1, I schematically illustrate a multiple of sewing machines 1 spaced along fixed angle rails 2 upon which are movably mounted multiple separable work tables 3v which together comprise my machine in its entirety.

Attached to fixed sewing machine tables 4 are longitudinal rods 5. extending towards the starting point of the movable work tables which point is fixed in relation to the needle and the length of material to be sewn. These rods support the single piece 6 of a stack of mate rial 40a during the sewing operation as is illustrated in Figure 7. The piece is removed from the rods after being sewn and it is then allowed to hang over the edge of the movable table as shown at 7 in Figure 3. The next piece of material is then placed in the same position until allthe pieces of materials on the movable table have been sewn starting from top to bottom of the stack of material.

Movable tables comprise a platen 8 secured .to a frame 9 upon which are fixed brackets 10 for rotatably mounting ball bearinged casters 11 which movably support the work tables on and along the angle rails 2. Fixed to and extending from both ends of the frame 9 there are studs 12 having grooves 13 for connecting the tables to slidable racks 14 to be explained.

Adjustably mounted and supported at intervals on the rails 2 there are base plates 14 secured to suspended brackets 15 for securing the plates to the underside of the rails. Fixedly mounted on the base plates are guide ways 16 for slidably retaining racks 14 that are. reciprocated therein by rotatable pinions 18 in mesh with the racks. The pinions are driven by reduction gear units 19 that are supported on and driven by reversible motors 20 secured to the base plates.

Fixedly mounted in ends 21 of the racks there are bearing studs 22 for rotatably retaining connector links 23 that have open slots 24 to form hook ends 25. The hook ends fit into the grooves 13 and the links are the means for moving the movable tables upon movement of the racks. When it is desired to move the tables with the material being sewn from station to station the hooked ends are removed from the grooves thereby releasing the tables and they with the material being sewn are then moved manually to the next station where the material in the stack can be sewn piece by piece without unloading or removing the material during the sewing operation from the separable movable table.

Fixed to the ends of the racks and movable with them are cam plates 27 with the undersides 28 arranged to depress rollers 29 of limit switches 30. These switches disconnect the electric circuits to the motors automatically and limit the distance the movable tables and pieces of material on them can go after passing the sewing machines. The limit switches are positioned to stop the tables automatically at the end of the particular sewing operation. Forward motion of the tables is simultaneous and is synchronized with the operation of the sewing machine needle by depressing foot treadle switches 31 and 40 located under each of the sewing machines thereby closing the circuits and energizing the motors operating the tables and sewing machine head's through standard automatic reversing across the line switches 36. The depressing of the foot treadle switches 31 and 40 is the means for operating the tables and sewing needle simultaneously and in synchronized operation each to the other after the tables have travelled the desired distance and a sewing operation on one of the pieces of material being sewn is finished the cam plates positioned by a predetermined setting will have reached and depressed the rollers which in turn will open the limit switches 30, deenergize the circuits and stop the motors operating the tables even though the foot treadle switches remain closed. The tables can be moved and stopped at any point in their forward movement before the cams open the limit switches by removing the pressure from the foot treadles and allowing the foot treadle switches to open and stop the motors for the tables.

Other ends 32 of the cam plates 27 depress other rollers 33 on other limit switches 34 located in line with but spaced away from limit switches to locate and determine the starting point on a piece of material in relation to the sewing machine needles. These limit switches are fixed on the base plates 14 and positively stop the return movement of the tables away from the sewing machine needles. If necessary the pieces of material can be sewn while they are moving backward from the needles.

To move the tables backward, other foot treadle switches 35 under each sewing machine are depressed and the electrical circuit for reversing the motors are energized through the standard automatic reversing across the line switches 36. The motors with the gears will drive the racks with their connected tables backward until the cam plate ends 32 open the limit switches and deenergize the motor stopping them and the tables. Each of the tables may be stopped at any point in the line of backward movement before the opening of limit switches 34 by releasing pressure on the foot treadle switches 35. The movement of the tables backwards '4 from the needles are synchronized with the operation of the needles.

To sew hems, tubes, seams and other joining of materials a number of pieces of material are cut to pattern and then placed in position in a stack. The stack of material is folded as illustrated in Figure 3 and placed on the first movable table along side of a sewing machine which is started and stopped by the usual foot treadles 40. Foot treadle 40 is operable independently of or simultaneously with foot treadles 31 or 35, the operator then proceeds to sew edges of the material with a hem 37 for illustration. While sewing this hem the piece is allowed to rest and slide on the rod 5 and the table is kept in motion by keeping the foot treadle switch 31 closed to operate the moving mechanism simultaneously the sewing needle is operated by closing foot treadle switch 40. The table will stop automatically when the end of the hem is reached because the limit switch 30 will have been located to be opened by the cam plate when the predetermined length of hem has been sewn.

When a piece has been stitched the operator removes that part from the rod and allows it to hang down on the edge of the movable table. After hemming a piece the reversing foot treadle switch 35 is closed and the table returns to starting position. If desired stitching may be accomplished simultaneously with the backward movement of the table.

Another piece of material is unfolded from the stack and placed on the rod and the table moved forward again. This sewing and moving of the table forward and backward will be repeated until all of the pieces on the table have received this particular sewing operation. The hanging ends are then folded back over onto the stack and the entire stack is rolled over and placed on the table so that another side can be sewn at the next station to make a hem 38. The table is then unhooked from the rack by rotating the link from the groove and in this unhooked condition the stack of material on the table is moved with the table to another station 39a and successively to other stations of the machine in the same manner where other operations are performed.

With my machine the inconvenience of handling each piece separately is eliminated. It is not necessary to divide the pieces into unfinished and finished stacks. Therefore, valuable floor space is available for other manufacturing use. The materials are not disarranged and the operator need not search for the ends to be subjected to sewing. The number of motions during each particular operation have been reduced to a minimum because stooping and picking up of individual pieces are not necessary with my machine.

Having thus described my invention and desiring to secure Letters Patent, therefore, I claim:

1. In combination with a sewing machine, rails adjacent said sewing machine, a movable work table supported on said rails adapted to receive and retain a stack of individual piece of material to be sewed successivley while stacked on said table, a reciprocating rack adapted to move forward and backward past said sewing machine, a link rotatably supported on and movable with said rack, said link being detachably connected to said work table during back and forth movement to move said work table in the direction of and with said rack while sewing a piece of said material supported on said table, a motor and a gear driven by said motor to move said rack and said table, foot treadle switch means to close an electrical circuit to energize said motor and move said work table continuously or intermittently to and past said sewing machine and in synchronized relationship with the operation of said sewing machine.

2. In combination with a sewing .machine, a movable work table adapted to receive and retain a stack of individual pieces of material to be sewed successively while stacked and a reciprocating rack adapted to move forward and backward past said sewing machine, .a link rotatably supported on and movable with said rack, said link being detachably connected to said work table during backward and forward movement to move said work table in the direction of and with said rack while sewing a piece of said material supported on said table, a motor and a gear driven by said motor to move said rack and said table, foot treadle switch means to close an electrical circuit to energize said motor and move said work table in synchronized operation of said sewing machine continuously or intermittently to and past said sewing machine and other foot treadle switch means for reversing the direction of movement of said movable table to return it continuously or intermittently backward and past said sewing machine to present another piece of material in said stack on said movable table to said sewing machine without removing a piece of previous sewn material from said table.

3. In combination a sewing machine and a movable work table in synchronized operation with said sewing machine, a motor driven rack adapted to forward and backward movement in relation to said sewing machine, a link rotatable on an end of said rack and detachably connected to said movable table during the backward and forward movement of said rack, electrical motor means for driving said rack and multiple switches adjacent said sewing machine for remotely controlling said motor and the backward and forward motion of said movable table.

4. In combination a sewing machine and a movable work table in synchronized operational relationship, coma prising a rotatable reversible pinion a rack adapted to forward and backward movement driven by said pinion, a link rotatable on an end of said rack said link being detachably connected to said movable table during backward and forward movement of said table, electrical motor means for driving said rotatable pinion rack and multiple pedal switches adjacent said sewing machine for remotely controlling said motor and thereby the backward and forward motion of said movable table simultaneously with the operation of said sewing machine and other electrical switch means arranged to automatically stop the forward or backward movement of said table at the limits of said forward or backward movement.

5. In combination a sewing machine and a detached movable work table in synchronized operational relationship with said sewing machine adapted to receive a stack of materials to be sewn, comprising an electrical motor and multiple foot treadle switches therefore one of said switches controlling forward movement and another controlling the backward movement of said table; a pinion and a rack actuated by said motor to reciprocate said rack and table back and forth simultaneously with the operation of said sewing machine, a link pivotally connected to said rack and detachably connected to said movable table during back and forth movement of said rack and table to move said material back and forth of said sewing machine, rod means for supporting and guiding individual pieces of material being sewn and means to support said sewn piece of material and permit the sewing of another piece of said stacked material without removing any pieces of material from said table until all of the pieces in said stack are sewn.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,264,032 Webb NOV. 25, 1941 2,387,185 Runquist et al Oct. 16, 1945 2,444,335 Coppock June 29, 1948 2,522,811 Bishop et al Sept. 19, 1950 

